A lot is made about what Muslim women wear. A simple head covering (hijab) sends chills down the spines of the French as though that piece of cloth defines women's oppression in Muslim societies.

A lot is made about what Muslim women wear. A simple head covering (hijab) sends chills down the spines of the French as though that piece of cloth defines women's oppression in Muslim societies.

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Recently the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research conducted a pollin seven Muslim-majority countries and presented the respondents with six pictures of women in different styles of dress and asked them "Which one of these women is dressed most appropriately for public places?" The images ranged from women wearing a "shuttlecock burka" to a stylish headscarf and to no covering at all.

The poll—of equal numbers of men and women—ran from conservative Saudi Arabia where 76 percent thought women's faces should be almost entirely covered to Lebanon where nearly half preferred the women to be uncovered.

Although the poll's aim is to gauge public opinion, a woman's dress has never been about perception, it is solely a matter of interpretation. The Quran does not call for a fashion or dress requirement, but it does ask both men and women to observe "modesty." What gets lost in the midst of such interpretive crossfire is the core message that women should not be sexually objectified. Historically, modesty in dress has been defined by local customs that sometimes even predate Islam. For example, you don't see too many Muslim men dressed in shorts, no matter how hot the weather. And even an educated, well-dressed Saudi Arabian prince still wears a thobe (robe). It would be amusing if they did a poll of what is appropriate dress for Muslim men. The results would be perplexing.

Modesty is not uniquely an Islamic requirement. It's also expressed in other monotheistic religions. For example, ultra orthodox Jewish women wear wigs to cover their hair. Nuns wear apostolniks as a sign of their religious consecration. Episcopalian women are supposed to wear hats to church.

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Muslim women wear burkas, nikabs, hijabs, or headscarves for a variety of reasons. Some genuinely do it out of piety, while others are conforming to local customary dress. Some are rebelling against state politics, some are acting like testy teenagers, some are making a statement about religious identity, and some are required by others to live as invisible beings.

But if you browse western media's news stories or polls and studies, they constantly strip the activity of a Muslim woman down to her hijab or mode of dress. Have we forgotten that less than 100 years ago American women were denied the freedoms and access that we now take for granted and promote as universal human rights? What women are capable of in the United States should have nothing to do with the length of their skirts.

The hijab should not restrict what woman can do. It should free them to pursue larger issues and purposes that we all, as humans, are called to fulfill. This unrelenting discourse that focuses only on the head coverings of Muslim women gives an oversimplified version of Islam's teachings. A woman can wear a hijab in the West as a sign of modesty, yet still embrace all of the rights and opportunities given Western women.

All Islam requires is that people believe in God and surrender to him; abide in truth, patience and humility; give alms and observe the fast; guard one's chastity and remember God. This is the mandate. Nothing about hijabs or burkas. These media reports and polls skew the discourse by defining us by our clothingand do not capture the reality of 750 million Muslim women in our struggle to define our aspirations.

Muslim women are experiencing a spiritual evolution and the media is not reporting it. Instead, they dumb us down—reduce and oversimplify our minds and our abilities. We reject the hijab as the sole marker of how we are defined in public.

Around the world, Muslim women need to be educated about their rights. They need to know that the Quran does not limit what women can do and what they must wear. They need to know that in repressive societies harsh clergymen are misleading them by setting arbitrary rules. They need to know that for his time, the Prophet Muhammad believed in giving women rights when they had none. They need to know that true Islam is not stuck in seventh century customs. They need to know that Muslim women worldwide have embraced modernity while maintaining their faith.

Here's an idea: Imagine Hermès, Yves St. Laurent, Chanel, Christian Lacroix, Givenchy, and Christian Dior competing to create an entire line of haute couture hijabs and burkas. Women everywhere would fall all over each other to buy them and outshine each other in the latest fashion. These clothes would lose their religious significance, and be what they are—a fashionable and creative expression of modest dress.

Then we can talk about what is important and needed today: A greater emphasis on educating Muslim women on their rights so they can be liberated from the falsified constraints of society and empowered to fight for their rights and obtain justice for themselves.

So hijab or no hijab, I welcome you to meet some educated SHEROS of Islam: the politicians, the entrepreneurs, the poets, the athletes, the musicians, and the Quranic interpreters.

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